what do you think about this Ireland Itinerary?

Two nights in the Cork area would allow you to do Blarney/Cork/Cobh, as well as Cahir and the Rock of Cashel.

Lizzy,

Ireland is surprisingly small (particularly for those of use from the big states like you and me). I am planning something a little similar and here is my plan:

2 nights in Dublin then drive to Bunratty and staying there for the rest of our trip (flying out of Shannon rather than driving back to Dublin). From Bunratty, Dingle is about a 2.5 hour drive, the Cliffs of Moher are about an hour, Waterford is just over 2 hours, Cork is just over an hour, Blarney just over an hour, Burren National Park about half-way to Galway (which is just over an hour from Bunratty). We plan to stay at Ashgrove House B&B in Bunratty (www.ashgrovehouse.com) if you are interested.

On your first day by the time you pick up your rental car and drive across the country I doubt if you are going to feel like doing much exploring of the Burren. I don't know when sunset is in March but I would guess about 6 P.M.

It would be much easier to fly into Shannon and out of Dublin.

By the way, are you starting your 3 week trip to Europe in Ireland or ending it there? If starting it, I would drive to where you want to stay the first night and not try to do a lot of sightseeing that first day. Otherwise, go for it.

Nancy, have you been to Ireland before? Your plan sounds like an awful lot of backtracking if you are going back to Bunratty each night. A 2.5 hr drive to Dingle means over five hours in the car that day just to get there and back, not counting any sightseeing or stops along the way. ViaMichelin does show Bunratty-Dingle at 2.5 hours, but you have to add at least 20% to their driving time estimates. Blarney and Cork are actually closer to 2 hours (plus the 20%), Waterford is 2.25 hrs (plus 20%), and Galway is 1.25 hours (plus 20%). You can't possibly make the kind of time on the road there that we could here, even if you don't get lost. You might want to rethink the feasibility of your plan or you'll be spending all day, every day, in the car, seeing nothing.

Lizzy, I would highly recommend two nights in Dingle. It is my favorite place in Ireland and has the most beautiful scenery IMO. I think you should spend two nights in Kinsale also. I would drop a night in Dublin. It was my least favorite place in Ireland, although I generally prefer small towns to big cities. You might be different.

I would also echo the comment about your first day. If you're flying in from California on the 12th, I don't know how much sightseeing you will be interested in doing when you arrive. Just driving to Doolin would be enough for me (maybe too much).

I do think you've picked some great places to visit. I hope you have a great trip.

Unfortunately we have already booked our airfare in and out of Dublin.

We fly in to Dublin from the US & do our Ireland leg of the trip first. We leave on the 20th for Italy. (Venice for 3 nights, Florence for 5, and Rome for 6), then back one more night in Dublin before heading home.

I would agree that you should spend 2 nights in Dingle. Another thing to keep in mind is the driving. After a long flight (from SMF or SFO?) and the strangeness of driving on the "wrong" side of the road it would be a stretch to drive all the way to the Burren, explore and then drive to Doolin. We had the same length flight (from SMF) and I was exhausted by the time we got to Kilkenny. That was about a 2 hour drive. I felt much better after walking around, but the drive was a bit stressful. By the next day the driving was easier when I well rested and a little experience under my belt. I don't tend to suffer from jetlag, so I don't think that was an issue. What about doing your trip in the opposite direction, starting with the Wicklow Mountains? That isn't as far so your first day won't be as hard. By the time you return to Dublin, if from Doolin, it won't be that bad. It was no big deal for our drive from Galway to Dublin, but that was later in our trip than the first day! We left Galway early afternoon and we were back in Dublin before 5:00 p.m.

Will you be using a GPS? I highly recommend that you do.

We drove from Dublin to Cork after flying in, not a bad drive and enjoyed a couple days there. Blarney is 10 minutes from Cork and then we drove to Dingle. We preferred Dingle to Kinsale so stayed there for 3 nights.

These posts have been helpful.

We are planning a trip to Ireland in August. We are flying into London (no airmile seats left for Dublin at this late date) and want to spend about a week in Ireland and a week in England. We have been to England a few times before so may shorten that part of the trip.

We plan to rent a car in Ireland and would like to include Dingle Peninsula, Newgrange and Ulster American Folk Museum. Any suggestions for other must sees in the short time? Any comments on driving to Northern Ireland? Thanks!

Cheryl,

I don't know if you've mapped out those sights yet, but they are FAR away from each other. The museum is up in the north, Dingle is in the far southwest. Driving times are very slow in Ireland, and you don't want to spend your entire trip in the car.

I'd suggest either adding time to the Ireland portion of your trip, or cutting your list down to size. What's most important to you?

Personally, I think Dingle's great, but I wouldn't go there unless I had at least two days to explore. It's too far to go to just stop in and head out again.

Thanks, Michael, we have decided to spend a few more days in Ireland. We're wondering about flying into Cork, stay the first night, do a couple of days in Dingle, head north catching some sights on the way and then fly out of Dublin. Comments?

Hi Lizzy,

Having lived in Ireland, I figured I would chime in. First off, let me say I hope you have a great time in Ireland!

It's a shame you are flying into and out of Dublin. Had you flown open-jaw and into Shannon, you would be better rested for this leg of your journey. I agree with the other posters that it makes no sense to backtrack and it's really just time that could be put to better use.

This trip is really adventurous time-wise. In a lot of respects, I feel like you are doing too much in too short a time. For people to really enjoy small Irish towns and the larger cities, you have to relax and enjoy. With this itinerary it seems like you will be in the car A LOT and will be hurriedly rushing from place to place.

Here's what I would do. I would arrive in Dublin on the 12th. I'd sight-see around Dublin that day, go out at night and then head to bed at a decent time. The next day I would pack up and drive to Doolin, drop off my bags and then explore the Burren and see the Cliffs of Moher. Stay the night in Doolin.

Dingle deserves 2 days. I personally would cut out Kinsale and spend that time in Galway. Just a personal preference.

I hope you get to relax a bit on this trip, since you don't want to be worn out before hitting Italy. Especially since Italy's culture and history is so engaging.

Cheers!

In response to Cheryl -- you might want to add Giants causeway and Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge to Newgrange and Ulster folk park and spend your week just in Northern Ireland. Since you're already coming from England you wouldn't have to worry about changing currency and you'd have more time to enjoy the area. There is also Bushmill Distillery in that area. Near the Ulster park there is Enniskillen CAstle museum which is interesting as well as the Belleck porcelain factory.